1

January 2016 From the Executive We hope everyone had a relaxing and enjoyable festive season and managed to soak up some sun! The GC Nationals and New Zealand Open dominated January, with many of the Executive members playing or refereeing in one or the other. More details on the results follow later in this edition. Invitations have been issued for the Women’s AC Invitation and the GC Invitations, with the AC Invitations very shortly to be announced. From the President

Happy New Year! What a great start to the new year with the Golf Croquet Nationals. Fantastic croquet was played. Congratulations to all who won their events and thank you to all who played. I would also like to express my appreciation to the clubs and their members, Geoff Young and Joan Jenkins as manager and assistant manager, and for Croquet Waikato for hosting the tournament. We acknowledge the resources you utilize when hosting. I was delighted that I was there for the tournament and for the prize giving. The New Zealand Open (AC) that was held at Waimarie and Kelburn was another challenging event and more fantastic croquet played. Congratulations to all the winners and appreciation to all who played.

An enormous thanks is given to Tom Berryman for stepping in as manager at the last minute and to Brian Boutel for managing the Plate. Thanks is also given to the clubs and their members and to Croquet Wellington for hosting the event. Again, we acknowledge the resources you use to have a successful tournament. Welcome to all first time players at CNZ tournaments. It is great to see new players and returning ones developing and honing their skills by meeting these challenges. I am also delighted to see so many of our youth squad play. CNZ continues to be fortunate to have managers who work diligently to make our tournaments the best possible. I would also like to recognize the referees who tirelessly give of themselves. Thank you! While I was at the tournaments I enjoyed talking with players, club members, and supporters. Your thoughtful and useful comments about how we can improve what we are doing are always welcome. I believe everyone wants all aspects of croquet to be the best. Letting us know how you think and what you value is important for our growth and development. My personal goals as President are to attend as many tournaments as possible and to visit associations throughout the country. Please let me know when you have a meeting and if possible, I will be there. I have scheduled to visit one association and invited to another. I wish you all well for the rest of the season. Warm regards, D. Annie Henry

2

Please send all contributions for future Croquet Matters editions to the Executive Director (croquet@croquet.org.nz)

Merit Awards Trish Dollan (Sth Canterbury) – Bronze Graeme Simpson (Sth Canterbury) – Bronze Annie Henry (Nelson) - Bronze

Qualifications Tom Devlin – GC Level 1 Coach Judy Cleine – GC Level 1 Coach Vilna Gough-Jones – GC Level 1 Coach Yvonne Hamilton – GC Level 1 Coach

Women’s Golf Croquet Tournament 27-28 February 2016 Heretaunga & Marewa Croquet Clubs Hawkes Bay Phillip Drew (Captain of winning GC Trans Tasman Team) will run a coaching session for all participants of this event on Friday 26th February at Heretaunga Croquet Club. There will be a BBQ at Heretaunga Croquet Club after play on the Saturday evening for all participants. Heretaunga will be the Headquarters for the tournament. *** Important*** If anyone is thinking of entering the Women’s GC event in February 2016, please think about booking accommodation now, as the Mission Estate has announced a concert on for the same weekend, meaning accommodation will be at a premium.

Waimarie Croquet Club

Give a little fundraiser

We have known for 11 years that we would

have to move because of the stopbank

upgrade. We will be moving to the site of

a defunct bowling club. We have had

engineering designs completed, and the

estimated cost is $NZ420,000. The major

items of cost are earthmoving, drainage,

irrigation,and purchasing topsoil.

The Hutt City Council and the Greater

Wellington Regional Council have

collectively contributed $NZ200,000.

Neither of them had any legal or

contractual obligation to contribute

financially.

The Club has been busy raising funds for

this project, and, together with the

Club's accumulated reserves, we are

currently approximately NZ$100,000 short

of the total required. Now that we have

the detailed engineering design completed

we are applying to all available funding

agencies. If the remaining funds required

are raised quickly, we could be playing at

the new site by next season (September

2016). If the funds cannot be raised, the

Club will have to close.

I would like to invite any of the world's

croquet players who have fond memories of

Waimarie, or any who would like to see the

Club continue and successfully move to its

new site, to donate whatever they may find

possible to this cause. To make it easy

for players in all countries, we have set

up a 'givealittle' site, where you can

donate using your credit card, and not

have any worries of currency conversion.

The address of the site is:

https://givealittle.co.nz/search?q=waimari

e

Many thanks to any who answer this call to

contribute, and thanks for

reading this far.

Kevin Fellows

3

Golf Croquet Nationals 4-10 January 2016 Waikato-King Country

Annie Henry with Duncan Dixon (Open Singles winner)

Phillip Drew & Duncan Dixon (Doubles winners) flanking Annie Henry

Annie Henry with Michael Wright (Plate winner

Annie Henry with Sue Roberts (Plate Runner-up) Golf Croquet Nationals

The year started with a great challenge of skills in

running hoops, jumping through hoops, clearing

opposition, and finding new ways to have strategic play

at the GC Nationals. The events were the Open Doubles

and Open Singles held at Hamilton East and

Claudelands, and Limited Doubles and Limited Singles

held at Morrinsville.

The first two days of doubles had many matches taken

to the last hoop. One of the most exciting ones was

watching Felix Webby and Edmund Fordyce take on

John Christie and Nelson Morrow. In the last game of

the match Felix made hoop 7 from the boundary on an

angle. Another great play was running hoops 9 and 10 in

one shot to win the game and the match. Duncan Dixon

and Phillip Drew were steady throughout the

tournament winning all their matches except one. It

was a close final: Duncan and Phillip against Edmund

and Felix. The first game was 7 – 5 to Duncan and Phillip

and a close second one 7 – 6.

The next 5 days were the open singles. There were four

blocks. Once the blocks were played the knock out

rounds began. There were some upsets in the Knock

Out with Tony Stephens beating Phillip Drew. Players

could chose to enter the Plate (first round of those

knocked out) and the “Y” for the next round of those

knocked out. The other option was to enjoy watching

the games.

The final between Duncan and Felix was croquet at its

best. Both were playing intense games with Duncan

4

winning the first game 7 – 2; Felix winning the second 7

– 4; Duncan winning 7 – 5; Felix tieing the games with a

7 – 4 win. In the fifth game Duncan won 7 – 3. It was an

incredible finish to the Open.

There was a good showing with 10 teams in the Limited

Doubles and 16 who entered the Limited Singles. The

matches at the Limited singles and doubles were highly

contested. Helen and Jez Reeves from Hawkes Bay won

the match in two games from Frances Mouat and Jan

Ward from Bay of Plenty. Helen Reeves came back to

win the singles title against Mark Adams from Bay of

Plenty with 7 – 6; 7 – 5.

Well done to all the players and winners.

Geoff Young, manager, and Joan Jenkins, assistant

manager kept the tournament running smoothly and

encouraged players to play in as many events as

possible. A new system of determining the order of play

for the Knock Out was trialled. It made an interesting

draw.

The catering at all the clubs were appreciated by the

players. There was always something to nibble and

plenty of drinks to keep us hydrated. The weather was

somewhat cooperative with rain one day. The lawns

varied considerably, but not the hoops. The Adkins

hoops were set firm. All clubs were welcoming each

day.

This is a must event for those who play golf croquet.

New Zealand Open 16-24 January 2016 Wellington

Greg Bryant – the panther (Open Singles winner)

Paul Skinley (runner up – Open Singles)

5

Tom Berryman (manager) with Doubles Winners Greg Bryant & Felix Webby and Annie Henry

Harps Tahurangi (Heenan Plate winner) with Annie Henry and Tom Berryman

Felix Webby (Plate runner-up and winner of the Charles Jones Memorial Salver) with Tom Berryman and Annie Henry

Chris Shilling (4th)

Stephen Mulliner (3rd) This was an excellent event, sadly the

last major one to be held at Waimarie

CC on its present lawns because they will

become in part the site of an expanded

"stop-bank" to protect Lower Hutt from the

Hutt River in times of excessive

precipitation. Waimarie plans to move to

a nearby disused bowls club nearby and are

busy raising the funds needed to convert

the area they will occupy into five lawns.

Tom Berryman stepped in very capably as

Tournament Manager after Chris Clarke

pulled out. He coped with impressive

calmness as the conditions led to a series

of prolonged games and matches and caused

every round to have at least one match

that had to be resumed the following day.

The weather was generally good, barring a

torrential downpour on Monday, the last

day of the Doubles Championship, and the

lawns were variably-paced in places, with

6

light brown and green patches, with plenty

of slopes around hoops and elsewhere.

When added to the use of firmly set Atkins

hoops, which were as unforgiving as usual,

it made for a real test of concentration.

However, the main factor was the wind. It

whistled down the Hutt valley at over 30

mph on most days with gusts of onsiderably

more. It was simply impossible to take on

anything but the most straightforward of

short, straight hoops without waiting

until the wind had died down a little or

at least stopped gusting. This factor

alone played a considerable part in

slowing play down and extending the length

of games. I can't recall ever taking 4

hours to win a game with only 14 points

until my KO match with Joe Hogan but

there's a first time for everything and

almost everyone went to time in at least

some of their games. I think 8-5 was the

lowest combined score.

The catering was excellent, including

every court shelter being furnished with a

water container and glasses and flasks of

hot water with tea, coffee and biscuits.

But perhaps the most impressive feature

was the pairing of teenage players with

experienced Mac players in the Doubles

Championship. Felix Webby, recent runner-

up in the NX GC Nationals to Duncan Dixon,

partnered Greg Bryant to victory against

Toby Garrison and Hemi McLaren. Josh

Freeth, the World U21 GC Champion and

Edmund Fordyce were others who seemed to

be improving their AC as one watched. The

future for NZ croquet seems pretty bright

at the top end.

by

Stephen Mulliner

7

Upcoming Tournaments Croquet New Zealand tournaments CNZ GC Invitations

6-8 February Bay of Plenty Mt Maunganui, Katikati, Whakatane CNZ Men’s & Women’s 10-14 February Manawatu Rangatira CNZ Women’s Invitation

19-21 February Wairarapa Masterton & Carterton CNZ Women’s GC tournament 27-28 February Hawkes Bay Heretaunga & Marewa CNZ Arthur Ross Finals 4-6 March Wellington Waikanae CNZ Gold & Silver Stars 12-13 March Auckland Orewa

Update to Official Rulings for Golf Croquet These new Rulings supplement those issues last

year, and deal with fairly rare situations.

OR 5.1 and 5.2:

At the World Championships last year, in one

best-of-3 match the players exchanged colours

for the second game, but only realised that this

had happened when the game was over. Had

they realised earlier, before the end of game two,

then all play would have been with the wrong

ball, and, depending on how Rule 5f is

interpreted, either the game restarts, or all the

wrong ball play except the last turn is condoned,

and all points scored are counted for the balls’

owners, not for the players who actually ran the

hoops, thereby reversing the score. Neither of

these outcomes is acceptable. OR5.1 is similar to

the AC rule for ball exchange, and legitimises the

play that actually occurred. OR 5.2 removes an

ambiguity in Rule 5f concerning whether its

provisions apply if the wrong ball occurred in the

first four turns, but is not noticed until later in the

game.

OR7.2 already applied in the UK, and just clears

up any doubt about whether a ball that had

stopped part way through the next hoop could

complete the running of the hoop in the next

turn, even though that hoop was not yet its

“hoop in order” when it started to run it.

OR 9.2 fixes an obvious problem that relief could

not be given under the interference rule (rule 9)

for an in-lawn sprinkler head, because it is not

really “damage” and it is a normal feature of the

lawn.

—Brian Boutel

Register for www.croquet.org.nz

8

Official Rulings to apply to

the 4th (2013) Edition of

the WCF Rules of Golf Croquet

Released 1 January 2015, updated 1 January 2016.

OR 1.1 When applying Rule 1(f) in a handicap game, any extra turns used during play for, and which includes, the running of hoops out of order shall be restored. Time, in a time limited game, will not be restored in such circumstances. OR 5.1 If, in all of the first four turns of a game, the balls are played in the sequence given by Rule 1(e), but by the opponent(s) of the balls’ owner(s), then the first four turns stand and, for the remainder of the match, the ownership of the balls is as played in those first four turns. OR 5.2 Unless OR 5.1 applies, if the fourth ball played is a wrong ball and play is stopped immediately then Rule 5(f) is applied. Any wrong ball play discovered from the fifth turn onwards is dealt with using Rule 11. OR 7.1 When applying Rule 7(f), if a ball jams in a hoop above another ball already in the hoop, replaying the turn is the only option available once the equipment has been checked and reset or replaced.

OR 7.2 If a ball is resting in a hoop before it becomes the hoop in order, when applying Rules 7(a) and 7(c), the hoop only needs to be the correct hoop in order immediately before a ball completes the running of it. OR 8.1 Players are not permitted to refer to printed, handwritten or other prepared material during a match, except for the purpose of clarifying the rules that apply to a circumstance that has arisen. OR 8.2 The words ‘off the court’ in Rule 8(e) should be interpreted as “outside the game”. OR 9.1 Rule 9(h) should be interpreted as if it read: “If any ball makes contact with a scoring clip attached to a hoop, Rules 9(i) and 9(k) do not apply and all balls are left where they come to rest. No hoop point may be scored for the striker’s side in such a stroke.” OR 9.2 For the purposes of Rule 9(b), an immoveable outside agency on the court (e.g. a sprinkler head) is to be treated as damage that cannot be repaired. OR 10.1 If a player with an offside ball plays before a direction under Rule 10(c)(1) is given, that player is not entitled to subsequently rule on an opponent's offside ball. (see 1st and 3rd sentences of Rule 10(c)(2).)

9

OR 12.1 Rule 12(c)(4) is to be interpreted as if the following sentence were appended to the end of the Rule: "When a side loses its next turn, it is deemed to have been played with the ball of the side which would have followed the ball played immediately before the turn to be lost. If the side would have been entitled to play either ball of the side under Rule 11, it must nominate which ball is deemed to have been played. OR14.1 Deliberately committing a striking or non-striking fault is an example of unacceptable behaviour under Rule 14(a). OR 14.2 The underlying principle of Rule 14(a)(7) extends to the deliberate or repeated playing of an opponent's ball, or to playing two or more turns in succession, or pretending to play a stroke so as to induce the opponent(s) to play two or more turns in succession.

OR 14.3 Rule 14(a)(8) is to be interpreted as though the words “or other justifiable delay applies.” is added to the last sentence.

OR 15.1 If a situation does not appear to be adequately covered in the rules, or their interpretation appears to be uncertain, the issue shall be decided by the referee or, in the absence of a referee, by the players in a manner which best meets the justice of the case.

OR 15.2 Where a stroke that may produce a fault is to be played the striker should first request a referee or the opponent to watch the stroke. If the striker does not make the request, the opponent may forestall play and ask for the stroke to be watched.

From the Regions

Orewa High Standard of Play at Croquet Tournament While wet weather may have postponed the Doubles side of the 25th Annual Association Croquet Maygrove Village sponsored tournament on Saturday and Sunday, the Singles tournament produced some outstanding play on Monday and Tuesday. The Singles Open Championship final match was between Nelson Morrow, Warkworth, and Frank Robinson, Epsom-Remuera, both of whom had come through the Open section unbeaten with 4 “peg outs” each and a fairly close differential. This set up an exciting game made all the more interesting because of the nervousness of the two players and the consistently falling light rain which changed the dynamics of the playing surface. Both are world-ranked and highly experienced premier grade players on minus 2.5, so neither was taking the other lightly. Nelson got off to a fine start but handed the innings over at 3 back. Frank then broke down at hoop 3 giving it back to Nelson. The game continued to see saw between the two players with neither of them able to play their normal concise game while having to rely on roquets the full distance of the lawn and then playing some very awkward long rolls to gain any kind of hoop running position. Of course this made

10

it very interesting for the spectators, one minute having their money on Frank, then on Nelson. With his blue ball on the peg, Frank finally produced some very good croquet to get his black ball from hoop 3 to rover but unfortunately he didn’t go far enough through the hoop and was unable to rush the blue ball up to the peg for a “peg out”, so he very cunningly left his two balls close to rover with blue right on the wire, where it couldn’t easily be used by the opposition. It was then Nelson’s last chance and he took the “lift” with yellow ball, from “A” baulk line getting a super roquet on black, which then hit blue away from the hoop. He was able then to use blue to make 3 back and 4 back, but then had to go over to the west boundary to pick up his partner ball, red. With an amazing split roll to get red in the perfect position for a peel through rover, while his yellow ball reached the pioneer at penultimate he made the hoop, carried on to his rover peel with red and finished off the game 26/24. What a finish to such an enjoyable tournament! The calibre of these two players throughout the tournament was a treat for the spectators, many of whom are new to Association Croquet. Local hopefuls Carol Pugh and Keith Wallace also competed in the Open section with Wallace finishing strongest for a creditable third. The 4-plus handicaps competition was won by Jeff France (Pukekohe) with three wins in the Super-section, with Jacqui Anderson (Takapuna) taking out the Consolation section also with three wins. The Doubles side of the tournament will be played later in the current season. Our very special thanks to Maygrove Village Orewa for making it all possible.

Gloria le Comte presenting award to Jeff France

Gloria Le Comte presenting award to Nelson Morrow (Open Singles winner)

11

Gloria le Comte presenting award to Jacqui Anderson

PARAPARAUMU CROQUET CLUB METLIFECARE

GOLF CROQUET TOURNAMENT

The Generation Game:

A popular and highly successful Golf Croquet Handicap

Doubles tournament, sponsored by Metlifecare, was

held on Sunday 13 December at the

Paraparaumu Croquet Club. Among the full field of

participants from around the greater Wellington region

were three generations of the Bullen family. As a

perfect demonstration that croquet is a family and

inter-generational game, Derek and Carol formed one

team while their son Brian and grandson Nathan played

together. Brian, who has been a New

Zealand croquet representative three times, and Nathan

were the overall winners of the tournament.

Francie Vagg

Plate Winners Doug & Helene Hay (right)

Brian, Nathan, Carol and Derek Bullen

12

Chris Cambourne congratulating Nathan Bullen

Claire Roberts and Brian Bullen

Joan Tait presents the winnings

Dates for the February 2016 issue of Croquet Matters

• Please provide articles by 20 February 2016

• publication on 28 Febuary 2016

Please send articles to croquet@croquet.org.nz

13

Notifications

EQUIPMENT WANTED/ SURPLUS

14

15

16

17